Hose-rack.



W. MCCLINTOCK.

HOSE RACK.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.Z9, 1914.

1 1 5 3,09 1 Patented Sept. 7, 1915.

WITNESSES l/Vl/E/V TOR I BY - ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co wAsmNc'rofl, D. C.

WILLIAM MGCLINTOCK, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

HOSE-RACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept.7, 1915.

Application filed. August 29, 1914. Serial No. 859,198.

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it knownthat I, WILLIAM MoCLIN- Took, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York,borough of the Bronx, in the county of Bronx and State of New York, haveinvented a new and Improved Hose-Rack, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description.v

This invention relates to fire apparatus, andhas particular reference toappliances for supporting fire hose in position for immediate use inconnection with the standpipes in city buildings.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a hose rack of a simpleand reliable nature, adapted for paying out the hose therefrom eitherloop by loop or all in one mass, according to the location of the firewith respect to thestand-pipe, or with respect to obstacles whichmay beinterposed between the fire and the stand-pipe. Some hose-racks pay ofi'the hose loop by loop,

and others release the hose in one pack or mass at once. Each of thesetypes of racks has its advantages, and a rack of one type may at timesbe undesirable. As a matter of fact, both types are good at times; thatis to say, under some circumstances and conditions the rack whichreleases the hose immediately would be preferable, as where the fire isbut a few feet from the standpipe, or, on the other hand, if theoperator can walk directly away from the rack, and the point at which hewishes to use the hose is about the length of the hose or a little more,then the loop-by-loOp type or system is desirable. It follows,therefore, that a simple construction of a hose rack adapted to meetboth conditions or requirements, is necessary. p

The foregoingv and other objects of the invention are carried out in apreferred manner bythe mechanism herein more fully described andclaimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in -which Figure1 is a plan view; Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, on theline 52- 2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front end elevation; and Fig. 4 is adiagrammatic view indicating the rack as a whole secured in relation toa stand-pipe.

The several parts of the device may be made of any suitable materials,and the relative sizes and proportions thereof, as well as the generaldesign of the mechanism, may be varied to a considerable extent withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention hereinafter claimed.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, I show'a stand-pipe 10,having a valve conltlrolled plug: 11 in communication therewit 7 At 12,I show a flexible hose of any suitable construction coupled permanentlyto said plug, as at 13. This hose is provided at its outer end, asusual, with a nozzle 14:, and the intermediate portion of the hose isfolded or looped into a plurality of loops 15 for connection to a rackor supporting means, whereby the hose is readily available foruse in theevent of an outbreak offire within the building.

The improved construction, as herein set forth, comprises a collar 16secured in any suitable place in connection with the standpipe, as forexample, upon the plug 11, with its axis preferably vertical. Thiscollar sup ports a pair of rigid arms 17 and 18, which, in normalposition, lie in substantially the same horizontal plane and parallel toeach other. A series of links 19 span the space between the arms, andare movably related to the arms and preferably connected permanently toone of the arms, as indicated at 20. Theselinks are of a lengthproportional to the width of the hose when in flat condition, and eachlink supports a single loop 15 of the hose between the two arms. Thearms aforesaid may be secured to the collar 16 in any suitable way, andeither of them may be rigidly connected to the collar, or

when it is desired to drop the hose as a mass upon the fioor. Itherefore do not wish to be limited unnecessarily to any mechanicaldetails of construction whereby I secure the result, namely, thefacility for delivering the hose either loop by loop with the armsstationary or rigid, or the delivery of the hose as a unit or mass dueto the relative movement between the arms.

In the embodiment of the invention shown herein, the arm 1'7 isconnected by means of a shoulder 17 rigidly to the collar at its rearend. At its front'end, there is formed a rigid arch or bridge 21,extending up wardly at 21 from the end of the arm and thencehorizontally substantially to the Vertical plane of the arm 18, andthence it is bent downwardly at 21, forming a hook, 22 in which thefront end of the arm 18 is seated.

As will be noted from Fig. 3, the front end of the rack as a whole isfree and unobstructed so as to insure the prompt delivery of the hoseloop by loop from between the arms when they are held in their normalrigid position. The front link 19 is locked in position by means of alug 23 of suflicient height and width for thispurpose. This link holdsthe first loop of the hose, or the loop which carries the nozzle 14;,and this loop. being held in position rigidly upon the first link bymeans of the lug 23, all of the other loops are firmly held,notwithstanding a considerable amount of spring or elasticity which isalways inherent in a flexible hose, especially when it is new. It is notnecessary, therefore, for a new hose, when applied to thisrack, to bebound by means of a cord or the like to prevent the elasticity thereoffrom forcing it out of place. The rearmost or last link 19 lies againsta lug 24, which prevents the bulging or spreading of the mass of loopstoward the plug 11. Each intermediate link may lie against a shoulder 18if desired, in order to properly locate it withrespect to the arm 18.

In order to remove the hose from the rack promptly loop by loop by anauthorized person, he will seize the nozzle 14, and then, with hisfingers or otherwise, he will lift the first link 19 out of engagementwith the lug 23, and afterthis link. drops down around its point ofconnection 20, all the other links will swing forwardly and downwardlywithout obstruction, to deliver the hose. The lug 23, however, servesnormally to prevent accidental dropping of the hose, due to carelessnessor mischief on the part of boys or the like.

The arm 18 is connected to the collar 16 or to a shoulder 18 extendingoutwardly therefrom, by means of a knuckle 25 having a pair of pivots 26and-27 at its opposite ends, whose axes are arranged at right angles toeach other. More specifically stated, the

- pivot 26 connects the knuckle to the shoulder 18 so as to swing aroundin a horizontal plane, and the pivot 27 connects the arm to the knuckleso as to allow the arm to swing around the pivot 27 in a vertical plane.The pivotal connections are such, however, as to limit the movement ofthe arm strictly to the plane perpendicular to the axis of the pivot 27with respect to the knuckle, and at the same time, the knuckle can swingonly in the horizontal plane perpendicular to the axis of the pivot 26.When it is desired to drop the hose as a mass upon the floor, theoperator will lift upon the outer or front end of the arm 18, throwingit upwardly out of the hook 22, and then he will swing the arm andknuckle laterally or to the left as he faces the rack, whereby the linkswill all be freed from the ledge 28, and all will drop at practicallythe same time.

For re-racking the hose, the arm 18 will be returned to its normalcondition in engagement with the hook 22, then, beginning at therearmost link 19, the links will be inserted into the several loops andsupported against their respective shoulders.

I claim i 1. The herein described hose rack com prising, in combination,a pair of arms arranged in the same horizontal plane, means connectingsaid arms at one end whereby the opposite ends are adapted to moverelatively from each other, means rigidly connected to the free end ofone arm and extending thence into interlocking engagement with the freeend of the other arm to normally prevent such relative movement, and aseries of relatively movable supporting membersfor the individual hoseloops extending between said 100 arms, the construction and arrangementbeing such that the hose may be removed from said series of supportingmembers loop by loop, the arms remaining parallel to each other, or thehose willinstantly drop auto- 105 matically in a single mass as a resultof the relative movement of the arms as aforesaid.

2. In a hose rack, the combination of a pair of rigid arms arrangednormally in the same plane, pivotal connections for the rear 110 ends ofthe arms adapting one to be moved upwardly from said plane and thenceoutwardly, a member permanently connected to and extending from the endof one of the arms into holding engagement with the free 115 end of theother arm whereby the relative movement aforesaid is prevented, and aseries of supporting members extending normally between the arms forholding the individual loops of the hose- 3. In a hose-rack, thecombination of a pair of rigid arms arranged normally in the samehorizontal plane, an arch rigidly connected to the end of one of thearms and extending thence upwardly and laterally to 125 the verticalplane of the other arm and thence bent downwardly and terminating inmeans for the rear end of the arm last rename to this specification inthe presence of ferred to adaptillllg it t3 be lifted outaof entwosubscribing Witnesses. V gagement with t e are structure an a se- I riesof supporting members extending nor- WILLIAM MCOLINTOCK' mally betweenthe arms, substantially as set Witnesses: forth. GEO. L. BEELER,

In testimony whereof I have signed my GEORGE H. EMSLEE.

' Copies oi. this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G."

